Black and white photo of a bearded man with dark hair, leaning against a brick wall, looking away from the camera.

Shervin Mirzeinali is an Iranian-Australian composer, artistic director, and researcher based in Sydney. His work draws on the Iranian Dastgah modal system and the colour-focused approaches of spectral music, exploring repetition, presence, and the relationship between timbre and modality.

His compositions span chamber, orchestral, electronic, and interdisciplinary forms, often combining Persian modalities with experimental structures, speech, theatre, and gesture. His work has been performed internationally in Armenia, Finland, Austria, Georgia, and Australia, at festivals including IMPULS, SIBAFest, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In 2023, he received the APRA AMCOS Art Music Award for Work of the Year – Dramatic for Panbe Zan, a contemporary Persian opera.

Shervin is co-founder and artistic director of CozyStage, a platform for culturally diverse and cross-disciplinary music. Through initiatives such as the Iranian Music Festival, CozyMinimal, and FolkXperimental, he curates programs that centre intercultural dialogue and creative experimentation within Australia’s contemporary music landscape.

Alongside his compositional practice, Shervin works across theatre, ensemble direction, community music, and creative education. He holds a PhD in composition from the University of Sydney, where his research focused on Persian aesthetics and Spectralism in new music.

Education

  • The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
    2019 - 2023

    Thesis:
    Decorative Timbre: Integrating characteristics of Spectral and Dastgah music

    Decorative Timbre is a portfolio of original compositions and an accompanying written dissertation. In this thesis, I propose a new musical language synthesising the expressive element of Western Spectral and Persian Dastgah music via the marriage of timbre and ornamentation. Persian and Spectral music are two fundamentally distinct musical approaches derived from different philosophies and traditions, each possessing a particular value and aesthetic. However, in researching mutual characteristics and modalities, I draw connections between the two forms of music under the concept of decorative timbre. I discuss approaches to 'converting a melody to timbre and vice versa' and offer a new compositional technique of 'excessive multilayering' that is inspired by shared commonalities in both traditions.

    The portfolio comprises four works that explore the application of excessive multilayering; Abalfazl, War is Peace, Let me Tune, and Beautifully Untuned Mind. The centrepiece of my creative portfolio, Panbe Zan (the cotton beater), is an experimental electroacoustic opera that recreates and recontextualizes the forgotten sounds of an obsolete profession 'Panbe Zani (Cotton Beating).' Featuring a redesigned bow-shaped instrument together with live musicians, pre-recorded and manipulated sounds, and staging, the work portrays this nostalgic scene in a modern context.

    Link to the full Thesis

  • Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland
    2017 - 2018

    V.Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire, Tbilisi, Georgia
    2016 - 2017

    Thesis:
    Visual aspects of the performer, As a component of the composition technique

    The perception of music is greatly influenced by the observation of performers during a concert. Numerous factors such as facial expressions, body movements, physical appearance, gender, outfit, stage setting, and background contribute significantly to this experience.

    Furthermore, within the music itself, various parameters such as tempo, rhythm, dynamics, and the distinct techniques employed by different instruments possess their own unique characteristic body movements and gestures. Composers and performers can utilize these elements as additional tools to effectively convey the conceptual and expressive dimensions of the music to the audience.

    Consequently, many composers have taken a keen interest in the visual aspect of music performance. They have strived to develop notations that consider visual elements as essential parameters of their compositions.

    In this study, I have chosen Mark Applebaum's composition "Aphasia 2011" as the subject of research. Originally intended for a singer and tape, this piece involves the precise synchronization of various hand gestures with the accompanying tape, all while the singer remains silent.

  • Komitas Yerevan State Conservatory, Yerevan, Armenia
    2011 - 2015

  • Komitas Yerevan State Conservatory, Yerevan, Armenia
    2010 - 2014

Mentors